To know how a wind turbine operates, you need to understand two main things.
1. How to harness the wind.
2. How to convert that wind into electricity.
How to Harness the Wind:
Obviously, you must first harness, or capture, the power of the wind. Wind usually flows or blows forward over the ground's surface. So this lateral motion must be changed to a rotary movement. As with a windmill, this is accomplished with angled and tilted blades.
Since the blades must always face directly into the wind, the turbine has a device that forces the blades to remain in place as the wind changes direction. A tail fin that resembles those on an aircraft is placed behind the blades, and it keeps them in proper position as the wind blows. As the wind changes direction, the force exerted on the sides of the tail fin ensure that the blades stay in place.
When the wind hits the turbine's blades laterally, their angled and tilted design converts it to a sideways motion; then the spindle that anchors the blades helps to form a rotary movement.
How to Convert Wind into Electricity:
Now that we know the turbine's blades continually face the wind and create rotation, we need to see how electricity is produced. As we said, the blades are attached to a center spindle. This spindle connects to an axle, and it usually drives a gearbox to speed the blades' rotation.
The axle servers as a conduit to a generator. The generator basically converts the rotating wind into electrical energy. Since this article only explains the operation of a wind turbine generally, we won't describe the physics of what occurs - it just does!
Simply put, that is how it happens. We then have free electrical power, courtesy of the wind. The only other thing you have to do is use cables to connect the generator's output to your home. You can further save on your electric bill by adding circuits to regulate voltage and batteries to store any excess power.
Final Thoughts and a Note About Safety:
Now you know basically how wind turbines operate and how they can create free electricity for your home. But you must consider some other issues before you install a wind turbine. You can do some online research to find more information.
Be sure to contact an electrician before you make any changes to your home's electrical supply.
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